Field of the Embodiments of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to vehicle alert systems and, more specifically, to techniques for transmitting an alert from a vehicle towards a target area.
Description of the Related Art
A conventional vehicle includes a horn that may be activated by the driver of the vehicle in order to broadcast an acoustic signal, known as a “honk.” The driver typically presses a button on the steering wheel of the vehicle in order to “honk” the horn. Horns are most often used to alert other drivers, pedestrians, animals, and so forth, to potentially unsafe circumstances. More specifically, in one scenario, if the driver of a vehicle were to notice another vehicle swerving in an unsafe manner, then the driver could honk their horn in order to alert the driver of the other vehicle that such swerving is unsafe. In another scenario, the driver of the vehicle could notice a pedestrian attempting to cross a stretch of the roadway where the driver intends to drive. The driver could then honk their horn in order to alert the pedestrian that crossing the roadway would be unsafe.
One drawback of conventional horns is that honking is omnidirectional. Consequently, when a driver of a vehicle honks his/her horn to alert an intended target, not only does the intended target of the honk hear the honking sound, many other drivers and/or pedestrians in the proximity of the vehicle may hear the honking sound as well. This is problematic because honking is loud and distracting and people generally do not want to be disturbed by honking unless absolutely necessary. As a general matter, the omnidirectionality of honking contributes to noise pollution because honks are broadcast well beyond the intended targets.
As the foregoing illustrates, what would be useful is an approach that alerts only the intended target of honking without disturbing other, non-targeted individuals.